Gradius Gaiden

[Zeromemory]

At the end of the 3rd stage, if I manage to get there without dying, a small grey ship appears.

What is that all about?

[Logan Jones]

Does it make a repetitive alarm sound? If it does, then that would probably be the "option hunter", an enemy designed to steal the player's options to keep them in check.

[Zeromemory]

Yup, that's it.

Tnx.

[Logan Jones]

Those things are in all the Gradius games, except the Salamander and Parodius series.

[PFG 9000]

Can we keep talking about Gradius Gaiden? It's one of the biggest reasons I love a genre that destroys my soul.

How about that soundtrack? It was among the best of that glorious period when games had CD-quality music but hadn't yet abandoned catchy melodies for bland orchestral ambience. Or what about the customizable powerup bar? Why did Gradius IV, V and Galaxies/Advance regress to the fixed progression of speedup/missiles/double/laser/option/shield?

[Lord Satori]

The soundtrack is fantastic! Especially the final boss. Despite the tradition of Gradius final bosses being extremely easy, this one is one of my favorites simply due to the music. The dialogue really helps as well.

[Logan Jones]

Gradius Gaiden has some of the prettiest graphics of the era. It's like Castlevania: Symphony of the Night in terms of detail.

[FRO]

Gradius Gaiden has some of the prettiest graphics of the era. It's like Castlevania: Symphony of the Night in terms of detail.

Agreed! Also, playing via the Gradius Collection on PSP, it looks really pretty, because of the smaller screen. I would still love to own a legit Japanese PlayStation copy of the game at some point, however.

[PFG 9000]

The graphics are really nice. At a time when everything had to be 2D, it was like Konami wanted to say, "F--- that. We're gonna take this awesome 3D machine and do all sorts of amazing 2D goodness with it. Because we can."

[bigbadboaz]

Yup, love this game. Can clearly remember how pleasantly fulfilling it was to check it out for the first time at release. It was one of the very few titles of the era that evolved an existing series in the way I wanted to see with the new hardware, rather than forcing too much into me-too 3D.

I have a PS The Best copy but would like to someday have the original-print version.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Or what about the customizable powerup bar? Why did Gradius IV, V and Galaxies/Advance regress to the fixed progression of speedup/missiles/double/laser/option/shield?

I believe it's customisable in V once you've cleared game with continues.

[Sly Cherry Chunks]

^It is but you can’t change the order of power ups ie put the options first. I guess being able to get the options or shield first messes with balance. Still a nice feature though.

[MathU]

The soundtrack is fantastic! Especially the final boss. Despite the tradition of Gradius final bosses being extremely easy, this one is one of my favorites simply due to the music. The dialogue really helps as well.

Gradius Gaiden has some of the prettiest graphics of the era. It's like Castlevania: Symphony of the Night in terms of detail.

Gonna sound like a contrarian here, but to be honest I don't particularly care for Gaiden's soundtrack. I think it's a huge departure from the sound of the previous games, in a bad way. I am also not fond of Gaiden's use of translucent graphic effects. I've always thought they were a dumb effect and extremely distracting, particularly for example during the high-speed stage boss. I'll take III's graphics over Gaiden any day.

[Despatche]

You're partially wrong about the music and completely wrong about the graphics.

But wait, how can opinion be wrong? When it's not actually opinion.

Many things are not the matter of opinion that they are said to be, especially when strange claims and "examples" start to appear.

[Shepardus]

I too prefer the graphics and music of past Gradius games, and I'm pretty sure that VGMdb entries on other games' soundtracks aren't going to convince me otherwise.

Gaiden is by far the less frustrating game to pick up and play, though. Hard to dislike that game.

Those things are in all the Gradius games, except the Salamander and Parodius series.

And the very first Gradius.

[copy-paster]

The final stage is one of the best moments in any shmup I've ever seen.

[xxx1993]

Gaiden is by far the less frustrating game to pick up and play, though. Hard to dislike that game.

Yeah, but I had some trouble with the plant boss when I first played the game...

[FabulousVioletGuy]

A much better made-for-console Gradius game than V, tbh.

[xxx1993]

I think Gaiden is equally good as V.

[FRO]

A much better made-for-console Gradius game than V, tbh.

Could you expand upon that? I quite like V, so I'm curious to hear why you believe Gaiden is superior.

[xxx1993]

Think he's just being a fanboy.

[Herr Schatten]

A much better made-for-console Gradius game than V, tbh.

Could you expand upon that? I quite like V, so I'm curious to hear why you believe Gaiden is superior.

I wouldn't say Gaiden is superior per se, but it definitely feels more like a 'proper' Gradius game than V. Unlike V, it retains the series' trademark variety in stages (every stage is a whole new world with specific challenges) and the iconic Moais, while V lacks both and is by and large a Treasure game flipped to its side. I also find V far too long, but that's probably just me. V is a good game, but it's not quite as successful as an entry in the Gradius series.

[FRO]

A much better made-for-console Gradius game than V, tbh.

Could you expand upon that? I quite like V, so I'm curious to hear why you believe Gaiden is superior.

I wouldn't say Gaiden is superior per se, but it definitely feels more like a 'proper' Gradius game than V. Unlike V, it retains the series' trademark variety in stages (every stage is a whole new world with specific challenges) and the iconic Moais, while V lacks both and is by and large a Treasure game flipped to its side. I also find V far too long, but that's probably just me. V is a good game, but it's not quite as successful as an entry in the Gradius series.

One thing about V I like is that the stage layout and such changes, depending on the weapon loadout you choose, so it adds variety and replay value.

[Kobayashi]

I love Gradius Gaiden. For me, it's the second best entry in the series, only losing to Gradius V that elevated the series to a new level (of excellence).

[Logan Jones]

I'm divided on which is my favorite. Both are incredible games that are unique enough to justify not giving a final verdict on which one is better.

[DJ Incompetent]

The soundtrack generally lacks tension and melody compared to previous games. The final boss track is an exception, but that boss fight mechanically lacks tension, so it is unhelpful.

I enjoy the stage design more than other games. I do like the powerbar manipulation and really like the weapon stacking features.
I think the common enemies often have better design than the other games. I like the effects when midsize enemies blow.

I reworked the soundtrack once. It is objectively better. The ending fits perfectly to Particle Man by They Might Be Giants. I know this. nyah-nyah

[tizerist]

the iconic Moais, which V lacks

Come on now, the developers got away with recycling those Moais far too many times.

I also find V far too long, but that's probably just me. V is a good game, but it's not quite as successful as an entry in the Gradius series.

At a 1hr15mins runtime, I prefer to think of that as simply generous rather than too long haha.

[Despatche]

Problems with V are that controllable Options are seriously OP, and just a single loop is long as balls.

I too prefer the graphics and music of past Gradius games, and I'm pretty sure that VGMdb entries on other games' soundtracks aren't going to convince me otherwise.

This was about the strange "departure" claim (and the speed stage claim, of course), which is explicitly false/out of context.

Anyone can dislike Gaiden however they like, but they really need to not say things that just aren't true.

[Kobayashi]

At a 1hr15mins runtime, I prefer to think of that as simply generous rather than too long haha.

I agree and I think this is by no means a demerit, reflecting only a personal preference (somewhat bitter, I would say).

Radiant Silvergun in Saturn Mode, for example, has an above-average runtime and yet is a masterpiece.

[Despatche]

RSG doesn't loop forever though. You can't even tell a Gradius game "alright, I wanna stop playing after loop <number>".

A long playtime is annoying even in a game that actually ends after that playtime... getting almost an hour in and then fucking up is as painful as it is for any speedrun. But when we're talking about games that are designed around looping, and looping forever at that?

RSG also isn't a masterpiece, it's actually seriously disjointed and has very questionable mechanics. No, the "Saturn mode" qualifier does not make things better.